Anna Rossi
Anna Louisa Rossi (born June 7th, 1986) is an American lawyer and politician, who formerly served as the Representative for Indiana's 4th Congressional District, and was nominated to the Supreme Court in April of 2017, a nomination she later withdrew under controversy. Early Life and Childhood Anna Rossi was born on June 7th, 1986, the daughter of a pastor at an Independent Baptist church, and his wife, a stay-at-home mother, the sixth of seven children. Rossi was home-schooled by her mother, a brief attempt to attend public schools ending in her return to home-schooling. Throughout her youth, Rossi would spend much of her time tailing her father at his church and the local food pantry, moving into more active involvement as she aged. Demonstrating significant academic aptitude, Rossi would, on completion of her home-school high-school curricula, apply to, and be accepted into, Harvard University. Education Rossi swiftly attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, graduating ranked second in her class, and entered Harvard Law School to begin work towards her Juris Doctor, and further graduate legal study. In her time at the University, Rossi generally refrained from extracurricular activities, concentrating on her studies. She did, however, join Harvard's archery team, instated shortly after her arrival at the university, and placed well in the sport. Rossi would complete her Doctorate of Juridical Sciences late 2013, writing her dissertation on the subject of the integration of religion and law. After a decade on-campus, Rossi returned to her family's home in West Lafayette. In 2017, allegations emerged from two Harvard students that Rossi privately used racial and sexual slurs against African-Americans and sexual minorities, and from a professor at the school who reported that she had heard complaints of racist behavior from Rossi by students. Rossi denied the allegations, and called the students "liars" 2014 Congressional Candidacy Foregoing a legal career, Rossi began to take the first steps towards a political run upon reestablishing herself in West Lafayette, and with the announcement of the 4th District's incumbent Republican that he would retire at the end of his term, announced her own candidacy in the party's primary. Rossi's father would personally speak on her behalf, and Rossi would benefit from significant name recognition among voters, as well as strong support in and around West Lafayette, making use of connections established by the church. In a multi-candidate primary, Rossi would manage a narrow plurality victory, and receive the Republican Party nomination for the seat. The 4th district was considered strongly Republican, with the average margin of victory since it's established numbered at nearly thirty percent, the margin thrice exceeding forty percent. Early opinion polls predicted similar margins of victory for Rossi. At a televised debate between the two candidates, however, Rossi was considered to be soundly defeated by an essential unanimity of reporting sources, as she, upon being pressed by her opponent, struggled to string together sentences or words in her defense, while her opponent was able to speak essentially unmolested. The one-sided affair received significant local press, narrowing the race substantially. Come Election Day, Rossi would be elected by less than a five percent margin, less than a quarter of the previous slimmest margin of victory for a Republican candidate in the highly conservative district. House of Representatives Rossi was generally considered to be a member of the House's conservative wing during her first term of office, though possessing a libertarian streak. Rossi would attend every vote in her first term. Rossi was brought into prominence near the end of her first term by serving as the lead prosecutor alongside Rep. Amelia Yang of Oregon at the trial of Albert Winston, resulting in his conviction and removal from office. Rossi would win re-election by a broad margin in 2016, refusing to participate in any debates during the campaign. Rossi would pass her first sponsored bill early in the 115th Congress, authoring a measure regulating and providing conjugal leave to prisoners federally incarcerated, the bill narrowly advancing over significant intraparty and interparty opposition. A second bill of Rossi's, the "Pornographic Content Tax Act", was passed in what would be her last day in office, after a contentious questioning period and narrow vote. Supreme Court Appointment On the evening of April 3, 2017, Rossi was nominated to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat left by the death of Justice Keegan by President Calvin Reed in a press conference. Rossi would accept the nomination in a brief statement, and announce her resignation from the House the following morning. The nomination of Rossi drew immediate responses of mixed positive and negative tone. Significant criticism was leveled at Rossi's lack of judicial experience, with accusations of the alleged partisanship of the move made, while others praised Rossi's role in the prosecution of Albert Winston and intellectual standing. Late in the first week of hearings, allegations of racial and sexual slurs used in Rossi's years at Harvard were reported on by the Wall Street Journal. Rossi denied the allegations, but under intense questioning spearheaded by Senator Alexander Breckenridge, which would draw significant controversy, Rossi would, after an emotional display in which the nominee cried and asked to be listened to, as well as claiming her life was being "torn to shreds", withdraw her nomination. Following the withdrawal of her nomination, Rossi would seemingly withdraw completely from public and political life. Her Twitter and Facebook accounts were both deleted, and she has not been publicly seen since the hearing. Personal Life Rossi is unmarried, and has no children. She owns a pet golden retriever, Jeremiah. Rossi is an Independent Baptist, following after her father, a pastor in a church of that faith. Category:Republican Category:Indiana Category:Representative